May 21

The rapture didn't happen, as some 'bible scholar' predicted it to. I didn't post a post-race update, and haven't even logged on here in the intervening month. Oops. I DNF'd that race on account of a flat tire, anyway. I am having wrist surgery to correct my scaphoid non-union on tuesday. Basically I broke it 8 months ago in a high-speed over the handlebars crash, and it never healed. I've just been using my broke wrist the whole time. The doctor said I won't be able to ride my bike or engage in any weight-bearing activity for 6 weeks after the surgery, which is a huge suck.

Will try and post an update after the operation. i've never had surgery before, so I'm a bit nervous about it. But I think they have real good painkillers these days. ;)

g g g go!

Rode 250 miles last week, to put some base mileage into my legs. This week is not so many miles, to recover for the 40 mile race on Saturday. If all goes to plan, I'll be fresh, strong and ready to suffer on saturday morning. There's nothing better in any sport to know that you are the strongest, and you have the ability to put your competitors in excruciating pain, worse than anything experienced in a 'contact sport'. With that in mind, watch this.

Bike fever

Yeah, I caught it. It always happens about this time of year. After my 14th place finish last saturday in Hell of the South, I'm super motivated to dump tons of miles into my legs. Which is why I've ridden my bike 150 miles since saturday, including 52 yesterday. It doesn't seem to matter how long I ride, as soon as I get off the bike, I can't wait to get back on it. That's a good thing. It feels good to go fast. It feels really good to go fast, and to realize that you would never be able to go this fast, for this long, if it wasn't for the hard work you put in to get there.

Training is most important because in the peloton, when it's getting intense, you don't want to be the guy who is torturing every mile, wondering whether he will be able to hold on, you want to be the guy who's just breezing through the miles at conversation-pace, while everyone else is suffering. That way you can be the guy who's got the juice to sprint to the finish line and win the race while everyone else is cramping and just glad to cross the line at all.

My next race is next weekend, it's forty miles of rolling hills in Sparta, TN. And I want to be at the front for the whole thing.

UH>

Shit damn, I haven't written a blog entry in like 14 months. Hahaha. Well I've got my commercial rating now, and I'm trying to pass all my classes, get my CFI, Multi, and whatever else you gotta get, and graduate college.

My first road race of 2011 was the Hell of the South on April 2nd. It was fast and painful, and there was much Gnashing of teeth. I finished 14th of 50 without too much trouble, which is very motivating. I'm hoping to put in some hard training over the next week and a half and get a podium finish at Aaron Shafer memorial road race in Sparta.

SWEET

Flew twice this week plus a sim session, the sim is pretty sweet, and quite disorienting. You never know which instrument is going to fail next, and you don't have your inner ear to give you a sense of motion. Valentines weekend alway sucks when you're single, nuff said. but tomorrow i'm going to a 21'st birthday party for one of my friends, and I've got some jack D. stowed for the occasion, maybe it will turn out fun. i'm also going to the gym, potentially with my woommate - thats always good for a laugh. 

airplanes, cows, and physics.

HAVEN'T posted anything in a long time, maybe i'll start writing in here more, it just kinda slipped my mind for about 3 months. 

Anyway, i got my first flight in a Diamond DA-40 today, and it was friggin' awesome. Took off at about 4:30 PM and most of the flight was at night, so that's always fun. my instructor also made me spend most of the flight under the hood, because i am working on my instrument.  Its pretty easy to fly instruments with a G1000, just like a video game. the DA-40 is to the Cessna 172 what a Maserati is to the Volvo 240.

My brother Russell called me the other day and said his boss has a fresh batch of young bulls that need to be castrated soon, so i'm going to go to centerville sometime in the next few weeks and get a taste of what real men do for a living, I can't wait. Things like that are the advantages of having a brother who's a vet. You basically stick the bull in a chute so it can't escape, and you get an instrument that looks kind of like a pair of vicegrips, except with a razor blade instead of just a regular clamp. You just, to use a Georgia expression, "Grab it n' growl" .. meaning, rip that sack open and evict some boys. 

As far as classes go, everything is good but Physics SUCKS. i cannot wait to be done with it, because its a load of bullshit. I have to spend 6 hours a week in class for just that one class, and thats not counting the shit I have to do outside of class. he good thing is the only classes besides physics are philosophy, theory of flight, and instrument ground, which are all really easy, plus my actual flying. So if i can figure out a way to get an A in physics with minimal effort, I'll be happy.